Spring in Minnesota means melting snow and icy roads, in addition to hazards such as rain, mist and fog. The summer months see an increase in traffic with vacation road trips and weekend trips to the lake. While cruising the open road is one of summer's great pleasures, that pleasure can turn tragic. In Minnesota during the months of June, July and August in 1998, there were a total of 23,102 crashes, 166 of them fatal. That same year, the 4th of July holiday alone accounted for eight fatal crashes killing 10 people over a period of 78 hours. In addition to the basics of safe driving (always wearing seat belts, driving alert and sober, and driving at safe and legal speeds), the Minnesota Safety Council and Minnesota NETS offer the following tips:

• Slow down and increase your following distance when rain or mist begins to fall. Even a small amount of water can mix with oil and grease on the road to create slippery conditions.
• Use your low beam headlights. High beams reflect water vapor (fog) and make it harder to see. Low beams are the law in any event if your visibility is limited to 500 feet or there is precipitation.
• If you are driving in rain or fog that totally impairs visibility, pull off the road as far as possible and turn on your hazard lights.
• To keep the inside of your windshield clear of moisture, turn on your fan and defroster—the air conditioner may work wonders as well.
• Allow extra following distance—a car needs two to ten times more distance to stop on a wet road than on dry pavement.
• Avoid driving through large puddles—the splashing water may affect your brakes, cause your car to swerve, and impair the vision of other motorists.
• Watch the road to see if the vehicle ahead is leaving tire tracks, and if it is, follow in those tracks if you can. If it's not, reduce speed slowly to prevent hydroplaning.
• Watch for icy conditions caused by thawing snow, spring rains or mist, especially in shaded areas, on bridges and on overpasses. Remember that these areas freeze first.
• Keep an eye out for pedestrians, who may be less alert to traffic in the rain and fog, and more difficult for you to see.
• Minnesotans are used to "winterizing" their cars, but with warmer weather it's just as important to "summerize" your vehicle. There are a number of things you can do to keep your car comfortable in hot weather. Change your oil at recommended intervals. Make sure coolant and fluids are filled to appropriate levels. Examine hoses and belts and replace any that may have cracked during the colder weather. Have air conditioning serviced by a certified specialist. Replace wiper blades if necessary; blades in poor condition can have an adverse effect on visibility. Keep tires properly inflated. This not only helps fuel efficiency, but also helps to avoid damage to tires. Make sure your spare tire is in good shape.

For more information about safe driving or workplace and community traffic safety programs contact the Minnesota Safety Council at 651-291-9150 or 800-444-9150 or check our website at www.mnsafetycouncil.org/ontheroadway/index.htm.

Motor vehicle crashes are the single greatest threat to our youth. Prom and graduation season is right around the corner and the greatest number of fatalities among your young workers occur in June, July and August. Many of these crashes could be prevented. By providing straightforward factual information about impaired driving, safety belts and speed, you can help them make healthier choices about their driving behavior. The information which follows makes use of estimates developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for 1996, the most current year for which this estimated data is available.

Incidence of Impaired Driving
For one of every 140 miles driven in Minnesota in 1996, a legally intoxicated person (a minimum blood alcohol concentration of .10) sat behind the wheel. Minnesota police report 6,463 crashes involving a driver or pedestrian with a positive blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Formulas developed by NHTSA were used to estimate the number of alcohol-related crashes where alcohol involvement is not reported by the police. An estimated total of 32,100 crashes in Minnesota involved alcohol. These crashes killed 218 and injured an estimated 11,000 people.

How

• 2,315 youth died in alcohol-related crashes in 1996 ­ 36.6 percent of their total traffic fatalities.
• High BAC (blood alcohol content over 0.10%) crashes accounted for all of the increase in alcohol-related youth fatalities in 1996. BAC crashes between 0.01 and 0.09 decreased by 6 percent.

Who

• Youth are still over represented in fatal crashes compared to the older population. The rate of involvement is greater for youth for both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related crashes based on the total population, on the licensed driver population and on miles driven.
• Close to 60 percent of the people who died in crashes where a young driver was involved were young people themselves. These crashes killed 9,018 people, 5,233 of them aged 15-20.
• Over three-quarters of the people who died in crashes where a young driver was drinking were young people themselves.

Imagine sitting or standing at your work station–your desk, counter; or work yard—with traffic streaming by 40 or 50 or 60 miles per hour just a few feet from your toes and elbows. That's the scene at the daily work location for construction and maintenance workers for our street, highways and utilities. In the U.S. during 1998 there were 772 fatalities and 37,000 injuries in work zones.

Over the last 5 years the number of persons killed in motor vehicle crashes in work zones in the U.S. has gone from a high of 828 in 1994 to a low of 693 in 1997, for an average of 760 fatalities a year. Motorists must do their part. Use caution while driving in work zones.